WASHINGTON, DC – Young adult arrestees use marijuana more than any
other drug, according to a new Department of Justice report released
today.The report, “The Rise of
Marijuana as the Drug of Choice Among Youthful Adult Arrestees,” indicates a
rapid increase in marijuana use among youthful adult arrestees (ages 18-20)
from an average of 25 percent in 1991 to 57 percent in 1996 among the 23
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program sites.Other data sources indicate a moderate increase among young
adults who did not come into contact with the criminal justice system during
the same time period.Between 1996 and
1999, rates of marijuana use among young adult arrestees held steady at 60
percent.Over the same period, the
overall rate for marijuana use among all arrestees (18 and over) at the ADAM
sites held constant at 37 percent.

Publication:The
Rise of Marijuana as the Drug of Choice Among Youthful Adult Arrestees (NCJ
187490)

For more information or to obtain a copy of this publication, go to the
National Institute of Justice Website at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij
and click on “What’s New.”Media
should contact the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at
202/307-0703.